militarywikiaorg-20200222-history
Auckland Geddes, 1st Baron Geddes
| birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | nationality = British | party = Conservative | spouse = Isabella Ross }} Auckland Campbell-Geddes, 1st Baron Geddes, (21 June 1879 – 8 June 1954) was a British academic, soldier, politician and diplomat. He was a member of David Lloyd George's coalition government during the First World War and also served as Ambassador to the United States. Background Geddes was the son of Auckland Campbell-Geddes and the brother of Sir Eric Campbell-Geddes, First Lord of the Admiralty during World War I and principal architect of the Geddes Axe, which led to the retrenchment of British public expenditure following World War I. Military career Geddes served in the Second Boer War as a Lieutenant (3rd class) in the Highland Light Infantry between 1901 and 1902. During the First World War he served as a Major in the 17th Northumberland Fusiliers and was on the staff of the General Headquarters in France as a Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel and Honorary Brigadier General.Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, Academic career Geddes was educated at George Watson's College, in Edinburgh, and at Edinburgh University. From 1906 to 1909, Geddes was an Assistant Professor of Anatomy at Edinburgh University and from 1913 to 1914 he was a Professor of Anatomy at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. From 1913 to 1914, he was a Professor of Anatomy at McGill University. Political and diplomatic career Geddes was Director of Recruiting at the War Office from 1916 to 1917. The latter year he was elected Unionist Member of Parliament for UK Parliament constituency, a seat he held until 1920. He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1917 and served under David Lloyd George as Director of National Service from 1917 to 1918, as President of the Local Government Board from 1918 to 1919, as Minister of Reconstruction in 1919 and as President of the Board of Trade (with a seat in the cabinet) from 1919 to 1920. Geddes was appointed Principal of McGill University in 1919 but never undertook his official duties. He resigned in 1920 when he was appointed British Ambassador to the United States which he served until 1924. As His Majesty's ambassador, Geddes investigated the treatment of British immigrants at Ellis Island, for which he wrote a report (1923). He was also heavily involved in the negotiations that led up to the Washington Treaty of 1922, which limited the size and number of the world's battleships. From 1924 to 1947, he was the Chairman of the Rio Tinto Company and Rhokana Corporation.http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0014%2FGEDD The Papers of Sir Auckland Campbell Geddes, University of Cambridge He returned to public service during the Second World War when he served as Commissioner for Civil Defence for the South-East Region from 1939 to 1944 and for the North-West Region from 1941 to 1942. The latter year he was raised to the peerage as Baron Geddes, of Rolvenden in the County of Kent. Family Lord Geddes married Isabella, daughter of William Adolphus Ross, in 1906. They had five children: Ross Campbell-Geddes, 2nd Baron Geddes, Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon. Alexander Campbell-Geddes, the Hon. Margaret Campbell-Geddes who married Prince Louis of Hesse and by Rhine, last surviving member of this family, the Hon. John Reay Campbell-Geddes and the Hon. David Campbell-Geddes. Lord Geddes died in January 1954, aged 74, and was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son, Ross. Lady Geddes died in January 1962. References External links * * The Papers of Sir Auckland Campbell Geddes. Forging of a Family, by Auckland Campbell Geddes, publ Faber 1952 Autobiography Category:Academics of the University of Edinburgh Category:Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Category:British academics Category:Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the United States Category:British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Category:British Army personnel of World War I Category:British diplomats Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs Category:Diplomatic peers Category:Highland Light Infantry officers Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Category:McGill University faculty Category:Principals of McGill University Category:Royal Northumberland Fusiliers officers Category:UK MPs 1910–18 Category:UK MPs 1918–22 Category:1879 births Category:1954 deaths Category:People educated at George Watson's College